Oldham Coalfield
Encyclopedia
The Oldham Coalfield is the most easterly part of the south Lancashire Coalfield
. Its coal seams were laid down in the Carboniferous
period and some easily accessible seams were worked on a small scale from the Middle Ages
and extensively from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution
in the early 19th century until the middle of the 20th century.
lie above a bed of Millstone Grit
and are interspersed with sandstone
s, mudstone
s, shale
s, and fireclays and outcrop in the Oldham district
. The Gannister Beds or Lower Coal Measures occupy the high ground of the West Pennine Hills above Oldham where the most productive seam is the Mountain mine. The Lower Coal measures were worked north-east of a line from High Crompton to Greenacres and the Middle Coal Measures to the south-west. The deepest seam in the Middle Coal Measures is the Royley mine which is eqivalent to the Arley mine of the Manchester Coalfield
. The coal seams dipped in the direction of central Manchester and were broken by numerous faults including the Oldham Edge, Chamber, Oak and Great Faults.
s, accessing the coal from outcrops on the side of a hill, employing about a dozen workers. Shallow pits sunk from the surface with wooden headstocks
were recorded in the late 1600s. These collieries had two shafts to aid ventilation. The Chamber Colliery Company's pits were sunk around 1750 by James Lees and the company was formed in 1877. James Watt
installed a Newcomen
type steam pumping engine at the company's Fairbottom Colliery in the latter part of the 18th century. It was an atmospheric engine working at the low pressure of 1.5 lb. to the square inch, and was known as Fairbottom bobs.
From the middle of the 19th century the output of the coalfield was sold locally to the cotton mill
s and factories and for domestic use.
Lancashire Coalfield
The Lancashire Coalfield in north-west England was one of the most important British coalfields.-Geography and geology:The geology of the coalfield consists of the coal seams of the Upper, Middle and Lower Coal Measures, layers of sandstones, shales and coal of varying thickness, which were laid...
. Its coal seams were laid down in the Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
period and some easily accessible seams were worked on a small scale from the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and extensively from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
in the early 19th century until the middle of the 20th century.
Geology
The Coal MeasuresCoal Measures
The Coal Measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. It represents the remains of fluvio-deltaic sediment, and consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal...
lie above a bed of Millstone Grit
Millstone Grit
Millstone Grit is the name given to any of a number of coarse-grained sandstones of Carboniferous age which occur in the Northern England. The name derives from its use in earlier times as a source of millstones for use principally in watermills...
and are interspersed with sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
s, mudstone
Mudstone
Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...
s, shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
s, and fireclays and outcrop in the Oldham district
Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton and Shaw and Crompton, the village of...
. The Gannister Beds or Lower Coal Measures occupy the high ground of the West Pennine Hills above Oldham where the most productive seam is the Mountain mine. The Lower Coal measures were worked north-east of a line from High Crompton to Greenacres and the Middle Coal Measures to the south-west. The deepest seam in the Middle Coal Measures is the Royley mine which is eqivalent to the Arley mine of the Manchester Coalfield
Manchester Coalfield
The Manchester Coalfield is part of the South East Lancashire Coalfield. Its coal seams were laid down in the Carboniferous period and some easily accessible seams were worked on a small scale from the Middle Ages and extensively from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the early 19th...
. The coal seams dipped in the direction of central Manchester and were broken by numerous faults including the Oldham Edge, Chamber, Oak and Great Faults.
Collieries
The early collieries were aditAdit
An adit is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, and ventilated.-Construction:...
s, accessing the coal from outcrops on the side of a hill, employing about a dozen workers. Shallow pits sunk from the surface with wooden headstocks
Headframe
A headframe is the structural frame above an underground mine shaft. Modern headframes are built out of steel, concrete or a combination of both...
were recorded in the late 1600s. These collieries had two shafts to aid ventilation. The Chamber Colliery Company's pits were sunk around 1750 by James Lees and the company was formed in 1877. James Watt
James Watt
James Watt, FRS, FRSE was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.While working as an instrument maker at the...
installed a Newcomen
Newcomen
Newcomen may refer to:* Viscount Newcomen, an extinct viscountcyPeople with the surname Newcomen:* John Newcomen , first white settler murdered by another white settler in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts...
type steam pumping engine at the company's Fairbottom Colliery in the latter part of the 18th century. It was an atmospheric engine working at the low pressure of 1.5 lb. to the square inch, and was known as Fairbottom bobs.
From the middle of the 19th century the output of the coalfield was sold locally to the cotton mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
s and factories and for domestic use.